Trump says Fox writers wrote some of his jokes at Al Smith dinner

New York (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump said Friday that Fox News staffers helped him write his Al Smith charity dinner speech, in which he cracked jokes and insulted his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump made the comment during an interview on “Fox and Friends,” during which he was asked about his monologue at the Thursday night event in Manhattan. Host Steve Doocy said Democrats historically “turn to the guys from ‘Saturday Night Live’ or the ‘Tonight Show;’ they write all their material,” before asking Trump who helped write his speech.

“I had a lot of people, a couple people from Fox actually, I shouldn’t say that. But they wrote some jokes. For the most part I didn’t like any of them,” Trump said to laughter from the co-hosts.

During his speech to the friendly Catholic charity crowd, Trump disparaged Harris’ intelligence, insulted her family, and complained about how badly he was treated during his presidency, drawing occasional cheers and some laughs.

While many Fox News personalities are openly pro-Trump, using their television platforms to promote the former president and his narratives, it’s rare to see one of them participate in a formal way with his campaign. But it wouldn’t be the first time. In 2018, host Sean Hannity campaigned with Trump ahead of the midterm elections.

In a statement to CNN, Fox News denied that any of its staff helped Trump with the jokes.

“FOX News confirmed that no employee or freelancer wrote the jokes,” a network spokesperson said.

Two people familiar with the matter said comedian Nick Di Paolo, who has written jokes for Fox News host Greg Gutfeld but does not work for the network, assisted Trump with his speech.

The Trump campaign did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Trump also told the show’s hosts that following the interview he planned to meet with the right-wing network’s founder, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, demanding the outlet block advertisements and figures on its air critical of Trump’s candidacy.

“I’m going to see Rupert Murdoch,” Trump said. “I don’t know if he’s thrilled that I say it. And I’m going to tell him, I’m going to tell him something very simple, because I can’t talk to anybody else about it; don’t put on negative commercials for 21 days, don’t put them — and don’t put on the air their horrible people, they come and lie.”

“I’m going to say, ‘Rupert, please do it this way,” Trump said, predicting he will get his way. “We’re going to have a victory because I think everyone wants that.”

“I think you shouldn’t play negative ads,” Trump told the hosts. “It’s very tough. You do a show — and I complain all the time about it, I love complaining, I love complaining, I like to have everything perfect — but when I leave here, I’ll have 200 people,” Trump said, trailing off.

“Because they buy time on Fox,” host Brian Kilmeade interjected.

The former president’s comments come after years of strained relations between the network and its founder, with Trump having previously called Murdoch a “MAGA Hating Globalist RINO” while accusing him of “aiding & abetting the DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA.”

On Thursday, Trump also criticized the network’s chief executive, Suzanne Scott, for giving airtime to Democrats.

“Why does Suzanne Scott of Fox News keep putting on third rate ‘talking heads’ like Jessica Tarlov, Richard Fowler, Patrick Murphy, ‘something’ Wolf, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and other Radical Left Lunatics that lie, and make up statements, with Fox, rarely having any counter to their storytelling?” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “If I win and, I hope for the Country’s sake that I do, and this Radical Left Moron, Kamala, doesn’t get a chance to run the Country, it is DESPITE Fox, not because of them!”

Trump’s attacks on Fox came after Harris sat down with anchor Bret Baier for her first-ever formal interview with the network this week, drawing nearly 8 million viewers, easily surpassing the 3.1 million who watched Trump’s all-women town hall that aired earlier in the day on Fox.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed reporting.

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